Monday, March 31, 2014

As I opened my freezer to get egg whites to make financiers I found four frozen bananas stashed there, sitting next to a bag of peas. I immediately thought “ok, financiers and banana cake” – nothing wrong with that, right? :)

Then I opened the fridge to get some butter and saw a jar of raspberry jam (I can’t live without jam, so I bought another jar right after I used what I had around to make these blondies) – that triggered my memory: I was almost 100% sure I’d seen a jam swirled banana bread somewhere (here, to be more precise). So I decided my banana cake (or bread, in this case) would have a jam swirl, but raspberry, since I find strawberry jam a tad too sweet. The marbled effect looked beautiful and the flavor was great, too.

Banana cakes or muffins are versatile little beauties, aren’t they? They taste delicious plain, with berries, chocolate, coconut, maple syrup, honey, with lemon icing and with jam – they remind me of the talented (and handsome) Mark Ruffalo, who I saw this morning being cute and funny in the trailer for Begin Again, and physically transformed and dark in the movie I most want to watch this year.

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 22.5x12.5cm (9x5in) loaf pan, line it with baking paper and butter the paper as well.

In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture; set aside.
In a medium bowl combine eggs, bananas, sugar, oil and vanilla. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy). Transfer batter into prepared pan, spreading evenly. Spoon jam on top of the batter and use a knife or thin metal spatula to swirl jam into batter. Bake for 55-60 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then carefully remove from the pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Friday, March 28, 2014

As I was reading the “news” days ago on People online, I found out that Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin have separated. Ok, alright, divorces happen, they’re part of life. People are already making fun of their “conscious uncoupling” (lol), I’m no saint and must confess that this link made me laugh out loud – I guess that it’s a matter of time before the kids ask to live with dad instead of mom, right? :D

When the kids move to Chris Martin’s house he can even cook this recipe for them: these stuffed peppers are delicious and while they’re in the oven dad can play with the kids or even write them a special song – mommy won’t be around to forbid them to eat bell peppers... :D

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
Sauce: Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and cook the onion, garlic and paprika until the onion is tender. Stir in the tomatoes, season with salt and pepper and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes. Add the basil, stir to combine, cover and remove from the heat. Set aside.

Peppers: Combine the couscous and water in a small bowl, cover and leave for 10 minutes
Trim the stems off the peppers and remove the seeds, keeping the peppers whole. Place in large heatproof dish and pour over enough boiling water to cover. Leave for 5 minutes then lift out and drain well. Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan and cook the onion, carrot, garlic and paprika until the onion is tender. Stir in the chorizo and parsley and cook for 1 minute. Tip into a large bowl and cool. Add the couscous and mince, season generously and combine well.

To assemble: Holding each pepper upright, drop in small pieces of the stuffing then use the handle of a wooden spoon to gently push it right to the bottom of the pepper. Continue until full to the top and repeat with the remaining peppers. You may not use all of the filling. Tip the tomato sauce into a large shallow baking dish and place the peppers and their stems, on top (I secured the tops with toothpicks before baking the peppers). Roll any unused filling into balls and place around the peppers. Drizzle with a little olive oil. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake for a further 10 minutes until golden and the peppers are tender when pierced with a skewer.

Serves 4-6 – I filled two very large peppers with half the recipe for the filling and got 6 meatballs; I baked everything using 1 whole sauce recipe

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Since I got to the end of the third season of The Killing a couple of days ago – cannot wait for Netflix to launch season four – I needed a new show to follow (I realize that I sound like an addict, but well, I am addicted to TV shows, so there you have it). The idea was to start American Horror Story but I bumped into Wallander and then competition was over because of my love for Sir Kenneth Branagh.

I’m still at the beginning of season 1, but liking it a lot already – Mr. Branagh can do no wrong, he’s a fantastic actor. It’s a crime-drama show, which is always good in my book, and Loki is part of the cast – what’s not to like? :D

When I’m in a hurry and/or uninspired to choose something to bake, I usually resort to brownies; however, lately I’ve been going for blondies instead, for they’re equally easy to make – I’m beginning to think that blondies can do no wrong, especially if they’re freckled with milk chocolate and topped with salted peanuts – yum. :)

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 20x30cm (8x12in) baking pan, line it with foil leaving an overhang on the two long opposite sides and butter the foil as well.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl. Set aside.
Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. On low speed, add the dry ingredients ½ cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl. Add the chocolate chips and beat until evenly distributed, about 1 minute.
Spread the batter into the prepared baking sheet, smooth the top, then sprinkle with the chopped peanuts. Bake for about 40 minutes or until the edges appear crisp and the top is slightly golden. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out with a few moist crumbs. Cool completely in the pan over a wire rack. Cut into squares or bars to serve.

Monday, March 24, 2014

I’ve been tormenting you about The Killing for many posts but I haven’t told you how I got to the show – it was because of Robocop.

I was interested in the movie for a number of reasons: José Padilha directed it, the original is a favorite of mine and also because of the amazing cast. However, I knew nothing about the leading actor – I’d seen Joel Kinnaman for seconds in Fincher’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and that was it. I liked Robocop a lot and after watching the movie I began reading about it – I got to Kinnaman, then to The Killing, and when my friend Neyara told me I would certainly love the series I gave it a go, only to become addicted by the end of the first episode and devour season after season (but you already know that). ;)

Moderation doesn’t seem to be something I’m familiar with when it comes to TV series or movies, and apparently I lack it in the kitchen, too: I’d bought heavy creamt to make the chocolate ice cream in popsicle form again – my husband can’t get enough of it – but I lost track of the amount of cream and all of a sudden there was a tub in the fridge about to go bad. I couldn’t let that happen, so I adapted a cake recipe I’d seen on Delicious made with clotted cream and that turned out to be a very smart – and flavorsome – move. ;)

Cream, orange and lime cake
slightly adapted from the great Delicious magazine UK

Drizzle:
juice of the limes and the oranges zest for the cake
8 tablespoons granulated sugar

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter two 900g/2lb-loaf pans, line them with baking paper and butter the paper as well.
With an electric mixer, whisk the eggs and sugar for 3-5 minutes until pale, thick and nearly double in size. Gently beat in the cream with the zests and vanilla until smooth, sift the flour, baking powder and salt over the mixture and fold in gently. Divide the batter between the prepared pans and bake for about 1 hour until a skewer pushed into the middle comes out clean. (Cover the cake with foil if it’s browning too quickly, but not before the 30 minute mark or the cake might sink.)
Towards the end of the cooking time, make the drizzle: put all the juices in a small saucepan and heat gently until the mixture bubbles. Leave to cool for 2 minutes, then add the sugar.
As soon as the cakes are cooked, remove from the oven and pierce them all over with a metal skewer. Gradually pour over the hot drizzle, letting it sink before adding more. Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then carefully unmold onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Friday, March 21, 2014

As I move towards the last episodes of The Killing, I keep thinking of how unfair it is for such a fantastic TV show to be cancelled at such an early stage (the show’s been cancelled twice, actually, which is even more shocking). I’ve read that Netflix has ordered a fourth season consisting of six episodes to conclude the series – thank you, Netflix – but it is still hard for me to understand how something so good can last so little – the über boring Frasier had eleven seasons, for crying out loud.

Quiches are something I never eat unless I make them (or my grandmother – she makes mean quiches) – the soggy pastry usually tastes like nothing and the filling is tough and equally flavorless. :S When I eat quiche I want the pastry to be buttery and flaky and the filling to be silky, with a little wobble. The recipe I bring today is slightly different: the base is made with puff pastry – which was perfect for me since I was short on time that day – and the parmesan sprinkled on top of the filling creates a golden and crisp topping. Yum – thank you, Donna.

I guess that good food made properly is like good TV series: we don’t get them often, so when we do we should enjoy them to the fullest.

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F and place a large baking sheet inside to heat up. Heat a frying pan over high heat, add the butter and onion and cook for 1-2 minutes or until golden. Transfer to a large bowl and cool. Add the eggs, cream, salt and pepper and whisk to combine. Line two 18cm loose-bottomed lightly buttered fluted tart pans with the pastry and trim the edges. Prick the cakes with a fork. Refrigerate for 10 minutes. Divide the ham and arugula between the tart shells and carefully pour over the egg mixture. Sprinkle with the parmesan and transfer to the oven (onto the baking sheet). Bake for about 30 minutes or until tops are puffed and golden.
Cool slightly and serve.

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

I cannot wait for fall to come – I never liked hot days and have had enough with the high temperatures around here. Summer was never a favorite of mine, not even when I was a kid, so you can imagine how uncomfortable these past months have been for me.

There is one good thing about summer: the delicious produce we have at this time of the year. Corn, tomatoes and stone fruits – my favorites. However, while flipping some cookbooks weeks ago, it suddenly hit me: summer is almost over and I haven’t baked or cooked much with stone fruit. I love them so much yet I keep baking recipes with citrus or chocolate or peanut butter – I should enjoy these beauties while there’s still time.

For that reason I decided to make at least one of the plum recipes I saw on the latest issue of Gourmet Traveller (and I plan on making another next weekend): this torta, or cake, beautifully presented with gleaming plum halves. The addition of marzipan was my idea because anything almond always pairs wonderfully with anything stone fruit – this time was no different and I’m very proud of that. ;)

For poached plums, stir sugar and water in a medium saucepan over high heat to dissolve sugar, then bring to the simmer. Reduce heat to low, add plums and poach until tender (10-12 minutes). Cool to room temperature.
Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 20cm (8in) square cake pan, line the bottom with baking paper and butter the paper as well.
Combine milk and lemon juice in a bowl and set aside for 5 minutes. Whisk the egg and sugar in a separate bowl to combine, then add milk mixture, flour, baking powder, salt, melted butter, vanilla and lemon zest, whisk until smooth, then pour into prepared pan. Drain plums (discard poaching liquid) and press gently into cake batter. Scatter with marzipan pieces and press them lightly into the cake batter. Bake until an inserted skewer comes out clean (25-30 minutes). Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack. Turn right way up again (carefully), then brush with melted butter.
For cardamom sugar, combine sugar and cardamom, scatter on top of warm cake and serve warm or at room temperature. The torta is best eaten on the day it’s made.

Serves 6-8 – I made the exact recipe above using a 20x28cm tart pan with a removable bottom

Monday, March 17, 2014

It took me a good while, but I finally gave in and bought a waffle maker. :)

For years I avoided buying a waffle iron because I would be the only one eating the waffles, and I really did not need more baked goods going straight to my waistline. :S It also seemed like a waste of money. But then, many months ago, I found out that my partner in crime for all things movie and sweet – my sister – loved waffles, too, and then it hit me: I would have someone to share them with from time to time, someone who appreciates them like I do, and the gadget no longer seemed so unnecessary. :D

So last Saturday we had an afternoon of Super Mario – it’s a modern version of the game, so she kicked my ass big time – followed by freshly made chocolate waffles drizzled with honey. We had loads of fun together – we almost drove my husband nuts with all the laughing – and she loved the waffles (I did, too). :)

Next time I’ll challenge her to play the old Super Mario version (so I can kick her ass) – I’ll just have to choose another waffle recipe to try. :D

Preheat oven to 120°C/250°F. Whisk flour, cocoa powder, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and add egg yolks, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla. Blend with a fork, then gradually incorporate dry ingredients, mixing just until combined.
Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat egg whites in a small bowl until soft peaks form. Working in 2 batches, fold egg whites into batter just until combined. Fold in chocolate.
Heat a waffle iron until very hot; lightly coat with nonstick spray. Working in batches, cook waffles until cooked through. Transfer to a wire rack set inside a baking sheet, cover loosely with foil, and keep warm in oven until ready to serve.
Serve waffles with honey.

* homemade buttermilk: to make 1 cup buttermilk place 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a 240ml-capacity measuring cup and complete with whole milk (room temperature). Wait 10 minutes for it to thicken slightly, then use the whole mixture in your recipe

Friday, March 14, 2014

Some supporting characters have the power of stealing main characters’ thunder in movies and TV shows – for instance, Amy Poehler is super funny but to me Tom Haverford is the highlight of Parks and Recreation.

I finished the first season of the excellent The Killing and was amazed by Mireille Enos’ strong performance, but Joel Kinnaman was the real surprise here: his Stephen Holder is a delight to watch, adding a much needed – and intelligently made – comic relief to a very dark show. He has the best lines and deliver them perfectly, making me laugh like crazy in several scenes – one of my favorites is the one in which Linden tells him that he can’t eat pork rinds if he’s a vegetarian and he tells her that “pork rinds are junk food, don’t count” (here at 1:10 if you want to enjoy it). :D

These “meatballs”, made out of eggplant with no meat whatsoever, are delicious – I served them with pasta and it was a hit. They’re very soft and it took me a while to shape the mixture into balls so I thought of adding an egg to it, but since my husband kept snacking on the mixture while I tried to rolled it I skipped the egg and added more breadcrumbs instead – it worked like a charm and I just had to be careful while frying them to keep them from falling apart.

I believe these eggplant “meatballs” will be a hit at your house as they were in mine - either if you’re a true vegetarian or a Holder-kind-of-vegetarian. :D

Cut the stems off the ends of the eggplants and halve lengthways. Dice the flesh into chunks and pop into a medium nonstick saucepan or frying pan. Add the onion, garlic, chilli and oliver, add 1 tablespoon of the oil and cook on a medium heat for about 10 minutes to brown and soften.

Add the lemon zest and juice, mix to combine, then remove from the heat and transfer to a large bowl. Cool slightly. Add the breadcrumbs, parmesan and herbs. Season with salt and pepper. Shape the mixture into tablespoon-sized balls with your hands. Wipe the nonstick frying pan clean with a kitchen towel and pour in remaining 1 tablespoon. Heat over medium heat, then carefully fry the eggplant balls in batches until browned all over. Remove with a slotted spoon and serve with the tomato sauce.

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

I love baking with nuts and usually have at least one kind of them around – I keep them in the freezer so they’ll last longer without going rancid. Sometimes I go crazy and buy too much of a certain kind of nut and then, even with the help of the freezer, I have to find a way to use the precious ingredients.

The small package of flaked almonds in my freezer begging to be used coincided with the arrival of this adorable cookbook, and being a huge fan of cinnamon rolls only added to the equation – it was easy to pick the first recipe to be tried. The buns turned out delicious, ridiculously tender and perfumed with the cinnamon, with some crunch added by the almonds. They do take some time to be put together, I admit it, but it was a cloudy day and I had no intention to go out, therefore it was a perfect project.

Put the flour in the bowl of a stand mixer, make a well in the center and put the yeast and sugar into the well. Pour the milk over the well, toss some flour over the milk to cover it, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest at room temperature for 1 hour.
Add the salt, egg, cardamom and vanilla to the rested mixture and mix at low speed to combine (or mix with a wooden spoon). Mix on low-medium speed for 5 minutes (or knead by hand for 10). Add the butter and mix for another 5 minutes (or 10 by hand), until you get a smooth, elastic dough – at this point my dough was too wet from the butter, so I added 20g all purpose flour and it became smooth and soft. Transfer to a lightly buttered large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for 2 hours.
For the filling, mix the butter, sugars and cinnamon until incorporated. Set aside. Lightly butter a 20x30cm (8x12in) baking pan.

Punch the dough down and transfer to a lightly floured surface. Roll it to a 60x30cm (24x12in) rectangle. Spread the dough evenly with the cinnamon butter, then sprinkle with the almonds. Starting from the longest side of the rectangle, roll the dough tightly into a cylinder and pinch the seams to seal. Cut the cylinder into 12 equal slices and place them, cut side up, into prepared pan. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let the buns prove for 45 minutes – in the meantime, preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F.
In a small bowl, beat together with a fork the egg, water, salt and granulated sugar. Brush the buns with the glaze and sprinkle generously with the demerara sugar and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then unmold and place upside up on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Monday, March 10, 2014

For months now I’ve been thinking of getting a pixie cut, while at the same time I keep in mind the idea of growing my hair long (currently it’s chin length). I haven’t had long hair in several years because a) I like short hair a lot and b) I’m not patient enough to grow it long. And that’s how it goes: one day I decide I’ll go at least past the shoulders with my hair, only to remember Elisabeth Moss’ beautiful hair in the Emmys last year and fall in love with short hair all over again.

I am a nutcase, I know. :D

If only things were easy to decide in life as they are in the kitchen – when my sister called me to ask for thoughts on what to do with a bag of Oreos I immediately said: “brownies!” – it took me no time at all to decide. :) These are Lorraine Pascale’s and they’re really delicious: I ended up underbaking them slightly and the texture got similar to the Guinness brownies I made a while ago – not a bad thing if you’ll ask me. :)

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 20cm (8in) square baking pan, line it with foil leaving an overhang on two opposite sides and butter the foil as well.
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. When the butter has melted, remove the pan from the heat and add the chocolate. Set aside for 2 minutes, then stir until melted.
Using an electric mixer, whisk the eggs, egg yolks and vanilla together in a large bowl until the eggs begin to get light and fluffy. Add the sugar in two additions, whisking between each. Pour it around the side of the egg mix so as not to knock out the air that has been whisked in. Keep whisking until the mixture becomes stiffer. Once the egg mixture is ready, pour the chocolate into it - again around the sides so as not to knock the air out.
Sift the flour, cocoa powder and salt over the mixture, add a third of the cookies and stir until fully combined, then pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Scatter the remaining cookies over the top, pressing them in slightly. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 25–30 minutes. The middle should be very so slightly gooey. Cool completely in the pan. Cut into squares to serve.

Saturday, March 8, 2014

As I was watching Hannibal a couple of days ago I noticed something about Raúl Esparza: I have seen three different TV shows with him and he seems to be playing the same character in all of them. His Dr. Chilton isn’t much different from Rafael Barba, and the latter is quite similar to the ADA he portrayed in Law and Order: Criminal Intent.

I get that not every actor is Leonardo DiCaprio or Christian Bale, but it would be nice to see Esparza playing something different – perhaps he’s just typecast (hello, Ray Liotta).

Changes are good for actors – back in the 80s who could have thought that Tom Hanks would turn into such a talented drama actor? – and it’s good when it comes to food, too: this is nothing more than a panzanella salad in which the bread has been replaced by crispy polenta pieces. I thought it was delicious and with the addition of mozzarella it became a substantial meal, great for summer days.

Grease a 20cm (8in) square pan. Combine the water and stock in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the polenta and stir until smooth. Over medium heat cook until thickened. Remove, stir in the parmesan, season with salt and pepper, then spread out on prepared pan. Let cool, then refrigerate until set (about 1 hour).
Preheat the oven to 220°C and line a large baking sheet with foil.
turn out the polenta and cut into 2cm thick strips, then break into 2cm pieces. place them onto the lined sheet and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the oil. bake for 30 minutes or until the polenta turn crisp and golden. Halve half of the cherry tomatoes and add them to the baking sheet with the polenta. Drizzle with 1-2 teaspoons olive oil, season with salt and pepper and roast for 15 minutes or until soften.
Dressing: place the onion and vinegar in a small bowl and set aside for 15 minutes. add the remaining olive oil, season with salt and pepper and mix to combine.
In a large bowl, combine the fresh tomatoes, roasted peppers, capers, cucumber and half the basil, pour over the dressing and toss gently to combine. add the roasted tomatoes and polenta bits and toss again. top with the mozzarella and remaining basil and serve.

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Three episodes into the sixth season and to me the show has really lost its sparkle – I don’t remember a season premiere as dull as that, and why on earth make it last that long if there was nothing interesting in it (the people behind it should take lessons from the people behind the season premiere of Hannibal). I will go on with Mad Men out of curiosity – I want to know how things will be managed for the show finale – but it won’t be a priority, for sure: Dr. Lecter is back, Sons of Anarchy is very interesting and there are still a couple of episodes left with one of my favorite villains of all time – yes, Mad Men can definitely wait. :)

There was something in my fridge that couldn’t wait, though: the marzipan left from this cake had to be used soon since it lasts in the fridge for only one month. I ended up making two delicious recipes with it and one of them was this lemon cake: moist, moreish, tasty, it gets even better the day after it is made – if it lasts that long. :)

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a deep 20cm (8in) round cake pan, line the bottom with a circle of baking paper and butter the paper as well.
Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy, then add the lemon zest and juice, and the marzipan pieces – try to keep them separate so they don't stick together.
Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. The mixture will probably curdle because of the lemon juice – don't worry, it will come back together when the flour is added. Beat in the vanilla. Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt, stir through the ground almonds, and beat briefly until smooth.

Transfer the mix to the cake pan, level the top and bake in the middle of the oven for 20 minutes, before turning the oven down to 170°C, and baking for a further 50 minutes*. Cover the top of the cake with foil if it begins to look too dark, but only after it's been cooking for 30 minutes.
About 5 minutes before the end of cooking time, make the drizzle: put the lemon juice and Amaretto in a small saucepan and heat until steaming. Stir through the sugar and cook over medium heat for 1 minute. Remove from the heat. When the cake is cooked, pierce it all over with a skewer and gradually pour over the syrup, waiting for the cake to absorb it before pouring more. Once all the liquid has been absorbed, cool the cake completely in the pan. Carefully unmold, remove the paper and invert it onto a serving plate.